-3- Who is sponsoring the March to Washington for Jobs and Freedom? II The Job demands include: The official call for the March was issued on A massive Federal Public Works Program to July 12 by the following national leaders: provide jobs for all the unemployed, and Federal legislation to promote an expanding James Farmer, National Director of the Congress economy. of Racial Equality A Federal Fair Employment Practices Act to Rev. Martin Luther King, President of the South- ern Christian Leadership bar job discrimination by Federal, State, and Conference Municipal governments, and by private em- John Lewis, Chairman of the Student Non-violent ployers, contractors, employment agencies Coordinating Committee and trade unions. A. Philip Randolph, President of the Negro Broadening of the Federal Fair American Labor Labor Stand- Council ards Act to include the uncovered areas of Roy Wilkins, Executive Secretary of the National employment where Negroes and other minor- Association for the Advancement of Colored People ities work at slave wages; and the establish- ment of a national minimum wage of not less Whitney Young, Executive Director of the Urban than $2. 00 per hour. League Who is invited to participate in the March? Labor and religious organizations are being asked to join with the above in sponsoring the March. A full Politically the March is non-partisan; list will be issued in that is, due course. neither funds nor organized participation will be ac- cepted from What is the purpose political parties. We expressly reject of the March? the aid or participation of totalitarian or subversive groups of all persuasions. Organizational The purpose of the March is, by a massive, participa- tion is invited from only the established civil rights peaceful, and democratic demonstration in the nation's organizations, capital, to provide from major religious and fraternal evidence of the need for the Federal groups, and from labor unions. Such groups are in- Government to take effective and immediate action to vited to form committees, deal with the national to sponsor the March, and crisis of civil rights and jobs to send delegations to Washington in their own that all of us, Negro and white, are facing. names. Other groups are invited to publicize the March, What are the demands of the March? to raise funds for it and to send groups to Washington under the banner of the March on Washington itself. I The Civil Rights demands include: These would include, for example, student and youth organizations, settlement houses, committees and Passage by the Congress of effective and other organizations of the unemployed, professional meaningful civil rights legislation in the organizations (doctors, teachers, etc.), and Greek present session, without filibuster. Letter organizations. Immediate desegregation of the nation's ". What literature is available for publicizing the March? schools. The National An end to police brutality directed against Office of the March will provide you, citizens using their constitutional right of free of charge, with as many copies as you need of peaceful demonstration. the following; -4- -5- THE MARCH CALL The National Office will not make trans- portation arrangements for local groups. This folder, entitled "The Time is Now, " Notify the National Office by mail of the gives detailed information on the aims and progress of your work in organizing your sponsorship of the March. March groups. LEAFLET 3. ORGANIZE THE UNEMPLOYED FOR THE MARCH One-page flyer entitled "To All Americans: It will serve no purpose to hold a March Join the March for Jobs and Freedom," for Jobs and Freedom if unemployed people designed for mass distribution. are not able to come and add their voices and presence to the demonstration. Organ- Additional copies of this organizing manual are izations must make it a mainjask to get also available. Other material will be put out by the the news of the March to the unemployed March Office and sent to you as it appears. and to encourage the unemployed, where possible, to establish their own March What are the immediate tasks of participating Committees. organizations and groups ? Organizations may further guarantee the 1. PUBLICIZE THE MARCH presence in Washington of the unemployed Our time is short! Our first and most by (a) assigning a given number of seats urgent task is to make the March known. in buses and trains to the unemployed, and Get to the press, to church services, tQ (b) raising funds to pay for these assigned union meetings; take our literature into seats. Make it your goal to send one un- the streets, distribute 'it outside movie employed person to Washington for every houses, at the ball game. Make the three who can pay their way. We hope that March known. not a bus will go, nor train start, that does not have its quota of the unemployed. 2. ORGANIZE TRANSPORTATION If there are no unemployed in your area, Our time is short! We have to get thou- raise funds for the transportation of un- sands of people to Washington on short employed persons elsewhere, and transmit notice. Set up your transportation com- the money to the National Office (see under mittee at once and have a hardworking National Office below). and reliable person head it up. Investi- gate carefully the possibility of bringing your group by train - it is a little more 4. HAVE THE COMMUNITY RECOGNIZE AND SET expensive, but special rates are avail- ASIDE THE DAY the able, and the more who come by rail, Ask the Governor of your State, and the less congestion there will be on the roads. City Fathers, to proclaim August 28 as If you come by bus make sure that you FREEDOM DAY. Ask ministers and rabbis have a written contract issued in advance to offer special prayers August 24-25 for and that the bus company has a group in- the success of the March. Approach em- surance policy in effect that covers all ployers with the request that they close members of the group. their plants on August 28 and grant work- ers paid vacation on that day in honor of Coordinate your activities with other the Centennial of the Emancipation Procla- groups in your area. It will, in some mation and the Civil Rights movement. cases, save time if several groups can make joint transportation arrangements. ... , r ;, .. , _ .. ,, -6- -7- Further information about these assembly points will How should funds be sent to the National Office of the be provided in due course. All persons are expected March? to report at the assembly points not later than 10:00 A. M. on August 28th. While your fundamental task is mobilizing people to Washington, bear in mind that the National Office Meetings will be held at the Assembly points - in has to meet heavy expenses in preparation for the most cases they will be churches - for two purposes: March. Any funds that may be sent by local organi- 1) To meet with Congressmen and Senators, who will be zations for this purpose will be welcome. In addition invited to meet with the delegations at the Assembly you are asked to solicit, where possible, special points and to report their positions on pending legis- contributions to defray the expenses of unemployed lation and to answer questions from their constituents. persons, which funds we will administer at our dis- 2) To select representatives who will proceed to cretion in accordance with need. Make your checks Capitol Hill seeing those legislators who did not re- payable to MARCH ON WASHINGTON. spond to our invitation to meet with their constituents. These representatives will be accompanied by repre- We ask you also to sell a March Button that will sentatives of the six civil rights organizations spon- help publicize the March, and to transmit the pro- soring the March. ceeds to us. The button is 2 1/2" in diameter, em- blem is a black and white handclasp, and the title, A massive demonstration will be held at the White March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. August House. A statement will be issued making clear to 28. Price of each button is 25 cents. Order from the President, the Congress, and the Nation our view the National Office. Send checks, not cash. Shipping that the job problem for Negro citizens cannot be costs will be borne by the Office. solved unless the problems of all the unemployed are tackled. The delegation will call for the immediate How will the March be organized in Washington? inauguration of a Federal Public Works Program ade- quate to cope with the deepening economic crisis. persons coming to Washington, whether by- All parade bus, train or plane, who are being sent by organiza- Later the Marchers will assemble for a under the leadership of captains ap- down Pennsylvania Avenue. The parade will drama- tions, must be will pointed locally before departure. (Private cars tize our demands for Jobs and Civil Rights and confusion and traffic problems, their use is commemorate Medgar Evers of the NAACP, William create the thou- discouraged.) Captains will be responsible for the Moore of CORE, Herbert Lee of SNCC, and group en route and in moving around Washington. sands of nameless heroes of the freedom movement struggle for full Further details on the role and function of the who have given their lives in the at this level will be forthcoming equality. The procession shall sing "We Shall Over- March leadership of bands and choirs for in the next manual. come" to the accompaniment the entire line of march. police to maintain The March wifl provide its own placards to be used on the March will be pro- among the marchers in All order and internal security vided by the National Office.